The Cardiovascular System

The cardiovascular system is composed of the heart, blood and blood vessels. Sounds simple enough. But, in fact, it’s one of the most important systems of the body. In the Cardiovascular System Web Guide, you’ll find useful Web sites regardless of your level of expertise.

Whether you’re a high school student doing a report for biology class, a parent looking for ways to explain to your child how the heart works, or you just know someone who’s having heart bypass surgery and you’re curious as to what exactly that means, we’ve identified sites that explain the cardiovascular system in terms you can easily understand.

Most sites link technical terms to a glossary. If the site doesn’t, check to see if the site has a separate glossary section. Still no luck? Try going to a medical glossary like the Texas Heart Institute Heart Information Center’s Cardiovascular Glossary.

Yes, the sites for kids are juvenile in design and in language. But often they include the most salient features about a topic. So if you’re looking to get a quick overview about a specific topic in a short amount of time, swallow your pride and become a “Discovery Kid.”

Texas Heart Institute Heart Information Center
provides a comprehensive introductory description of the cardiovascular system. Select from a list of topics on the left of the page to access concise explanations, accompanied by simple illustrations of relevant structures and functions.

National Cancer Institute's
Introduction to the Cardiovascular System conveys important concepts but in far less technical terms, often using real-life analogies to clarify obscure scientific phenomena. The tutorial concludes with a review and a quiz to test your knowledge.

PATTS
(Partners in Assistive Technology Training and Services) offers an overview of the cardiovascular system, including the lymphatic system. Find information on blood components, anatomy of the heart and more.

The heart, blood and blood vessels comprise a complex system that may be difficult to explain to kids. We’ve found Web sites that include very simple—and often fun—information on the cardiovascular system for kids, including related games and activities.

A good way to introduce a topic that may initially seem boring to kids is with some fascinating factoids about the cardiovascular system. For example, “Did you know that your heart beats about 30 million times a year?”

KidsHealth
makes the heart and circulatory system accessible for kids. Find pronunciation guides for new medical terms, animations of key concepts, audio of a heart beat and even tips on keeping your heart healthy. There's also a more advanced tutorial on the cardiovascular system for teens.

Discovery Kids
presents “Your Gross and Cool Body: Cardiovascular System.” The site summarizes the system in language that’s likely to capture and retain a child’s attention, and includes a list of related factoids.

As any doctor knows, the cardiovascular system is a complex system responsible for carrying out a variety of vital functions. If you’re a student or researcher looking for in-depth, technical information about the system, these advanced cardiovascular system resources are sure to help.

If you’re studying a particular function of the cardiovascular system, the Web site’s date isn’t crucial. But if you’re investigating a specific procedure involving the cardiovascular system, be sure to check the date of the site (usually at the bottom of the page) before proceeding. State-of-the-art technology is progressing at such a rapid pace that information quickly becomes outdated.

Looking for a great photo gallery? WebPath’s Cardiovascular Pathology Index displays more than 100 photographs of human and other animal hearts. The collection includes pictures of healthy and diseased hearts as well as hearts that have undergone various medical procedures.

CHORUS
(Collaborative Hypertext of Radiology) is an excellent reference site. Maintained by the Medical College of Wisconsin, it provides an extensive alphabetized list of medical terms related to the cardiovascular system, each with an accompanying peer-reviewed link to highly technical information as well as images and related terms.

The Gross Physiology of the Cardiovascular System
by Robert M. Anderson, M.D. provides, in five chapters and two appendices, comprehensive coverage of the cardiovascular system. The topics covered (including hydraulics of the heart, heart bypass and transplantation) are highly technical but the site is clearly written and well organized, making it easy to navigate. It also includes about 50 images as well as a video of the author’s patented mechanical heart.

Cardiovascular Physiology
is written by Dr. James Rogers of the Frenchay Hospital in Bristol, U.K., on behalf of the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists. The site presents a highly technical, four-page article on cardiovascular physiology that includes a table of contents enabling easy navigation to a specific topic as well as graphics and periodic “teaching points.”